The Rise and Fall of Rock Stars

Kathryn Harrison
Nov 4 · 4 min read

Many rock artists are known for something unique about themselves, something they’ve trademarked as a staple of their concerts or personality. My goal is to analyze the patterns that we can identify within the lives of these musicians.

Freddie Mercury:

Freddie Mercury was born in 1946 in Zanzibar, Tanzania. His given name is Farrokh Bulsara but he later changed it after his family moved to London, England. Mercury started studying music at a young age in India and began his music schooling on the piano. He joined a few bands before a revolution broke out in Zanzibar, and his family moved to London for safety. After the move Freddie continued to go through multiple bands before finding his band mates that we all know today. They named their group Queen and released a few albums before gaining traction in their music careers. Mercury was known for his incredible stage presence, his flamboyant eccentric clothing, and his love of all things lavish. Queen made many hits before breaking up, and Freddie tried a solo musical career that was not as successful. After getting the band back together they were very popular once again. It is speculated that around 1987 Mercury developed AIDS, which eventually he succumbed to in 1991.

Elton John:

Elton John was born in Pinner, Middlesex England in 1947. He was born with the name Reginald Kenneth Dwight and he mostly grew up with his grandparents and mother. He started studying music at a very young age and was very talented at playing the piano. The Academy in London was where Elton honed his musical talents, but he disliked classical music even though he excelled in it. He joined a few different musical groups all of which did not catch on. His dad did not like his crazy way of life and he wanted Elton to pursue a different career, but he dropped out of school to put all his focus on making his dream of becoming a musician a reality. He started out in the music industry writing other artists’ songs. He and another songwriter, Taupin, teamed up to write an album which Elton sang, but his true success didn’t develop until he released his second album. From that point on he found huge popularity and collaborated with several different musicians. Elton is known for his elaborate and outlandish fashion choices, and he is still performing to this day.

David Bowie:

David Bowie was born in 1947 in London, England and originally had the name David Robert Jones. Bowie started playing the saxophone at a young age and he was greatly influenced by his brother who exposed him to the genre of rock. His brother ended up committing suicide after being committed to an institution, which took a deep toll on Bowie and influenced his music. David first started working as an artist and tried to pick up small musical gigs and went through a few small bands without succeeding in the music industry. Bowie then gave up on music for a short period and experimented with other things. He ended up getting married for a short time and had a child. After returning to music, he eventually found success with his single “Space Oddity”, and he rapidly gained popularity after releasing it. He made up different personas such as Ziggy Stardust, which he later stopped using, but he continued his glam way of performing. He eventually toned down his theatrical style but still was successful. Bowie found enormous fame and popularity during his lifetime and passed away in 2016 after releasing his last album.

The Similarities:

These artists all have similarities when it comes to drug use, alcohol abuse, starting music from a very young age, a name change, minimal or no support from their parents, speculation of their sexuality, and performing in the Live Aid concert. All these artists were confirmed to have had heavy drug and alcohol use at some point in their careers as musicians. Elton John and Freddie Mercury are very similar in the sense that they both started piano from a very young age and could copy a piece of music just by listening to it, Bowie on the other hand began on the saxophone as a child. Another commonality between all three musicians is a name change, either to make them sound more memorable, or to keep them from being confused with other artists. Each artists’ family initially did not agree with their decision to pursue a career in music. When it comes to sexuality Elton John and David Bowie confidently labeled themselves as gay, but Freddie Mercury never directly said what his sexuality was, and it is speculated that it’s because he preferred not to have a label. All three stars performed in Live Aid concert to raise money to fight against famine in Africa. These specific patterns show how similar the lives of rock stars were, but are they coincidences or recipes for success?

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